Sandberg, Clegg join Nscale board as this ‘Stargate Norway’ startup hits $14.6B valuation

In an era where the demand for data centers capable of supporting AI technologies is surging, Nscale, a British AI infrastructure firm backed by Nvidia, has reached an impressive valuation of $14.6 billion. This milestone places Nscale among Europe's latest 'decacorns,' joining the ranks of Helsing and Mistral AI. The company's strategy focuses on vertical integration, encompassing energy, data centers, and advanced compute and orchestration software. This notable valuation is a result of a massive $2 billion Series C funding round, which Nscale claims is the largest in European history. However, this figure also includes a $433 million pre-Series C SAFE investment from notable firms such as Blue Owl, Dell, Nvidia, and Nokia, made in October. The funding round was further bolstered by the involvement of financial giants Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, signaling possible preparations for an IPO. Nscale's CEO, Josh Payne, hinted to The New York Times that the company might pursue public offerings as soon as this year to fuel its growth further. In a significant development, Nscale also welcomed high-profile members to its board, including former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, ex-Yahoo president Susan Decker, and former U.K. deputy prime minister Nick Clegg. This addition of seasoned executives aligns with Nscale's ambitious growth trajectory. The company previously announced a $1.1 billion Series B funding round in September, led by Aker, a public Norwegian company with interests in energy, which is also co-leading the Series C alongside the New York-based investment firm 8090 Industries. The venture, dubbed 'Stargate Norway,' aims to operate on 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026, with OpenAI as one of its initial clients. According to Øyvind Eriksen, Aker's president and CEO and board member of Nscale, this strategic step will improve efficiency by consolidating delivery and governance while ensuring continuity for ongoing projects. Additionally, last October, Nscale expanded its collaboration with Microsoft, planning to deploy around 200,000 Nvidia GPUs across three European data centers and one in the U.S., in partnership with Dell. Both Dell and Nvidia participated in the Series C funding, along with various other investment firms. Nscale anticipates that this fresh influx of capital will significantly accelerate the growth of its AI infrastructure across Europe, North America, and Asia. The company aims to enhance its engineering and operational teams while fortifying its platform. On the financing front, Nscale also secured a $1.4 billion delayed draw term loan last month, backed by GPUs, to support the development of its clusters throughout Europe. The firm intends to leverage the increasing enterprise demand and affordable renewable energy while committing to sustainability by reusing waste heat, fostering local skills, and investing in regional infrastructure as part of its Stargate Norway initiative.